Evidence has shown that man used decoys while hunting waterfall as early as 2000 years ago. Early decoys were made from the available materials of the day and could be found in two dimensional and three dimensional configurations depending on the skill of the person making the decoy. They were often woven from dried vegetation and mounted on reeds which were then stuck into the mud while the birdlike decoy stayed above the water. While being somewhat effective at deceiving ducks and geese flying high overhead, their crude appearance was less than fully convincing in closer proximity. Weaponry was limited to crude bows and arrows having limited range and questionable accuracy. In addition, the rigid mounting method prevented the decoys from naturally bobbing upon the surface of the water as real ducks or geese would do. The need to draw birds in closer and in greater numbers would drive innovation.
Improvements to decoy design execution would include the use of buoyant materials that could be carved into realistic profiles, painted to look like species that would migrate through the area, and configured for flexible anchorage while maintaining floatation on the surface of the water. Modern decoys are often injection molded from various polymers with details that can fool the hunter as well as the hunted. They are often painted or otherwise decorated to reproduce the coloration and overall appearance of natural feathers while providing durability for continued reuse.
Often these decoys are configured to duplicate the appearance of a duck or goose floating on the surface of the water, or alternately the duck or goose standing on land and posed to look like it is eating, sleeping, or alert and looking for a mate. Decoys configured for standing are often used in fields that are freshly plowed. They can be deployed in significant numbers and are typically not buoyant. Waterfowl passing over in flight may observe the decoys, believe that they are live birds feeding on the grain that has fallen on the ground as a result of harvesting, and land to feed as well. Modern decoys of this type are often constructed so that they may generate life-like motion as the result of wind blowing against them. This motion helps make the decoys appear to be more realistic. The more realistic appearance is likely to attract greater numbers of birds. In contrast, water based floating decoys are often used to attract waterfowl that is looking for a place to rest safely on the water and away from predators.
During fall migration, is very common to see significant numbers of ducks and or geese floating upon the surface of the water. The depth of the water in a lake, pond, creek, or river often protects waterfowl from many predators, such as fox, coyotes, dogs, badgers, etc. Therefore, waterfowl decoys that float upon the water are used to attract birds that need a safe place to rest. An ideal habitat for waterfowl may be a body of water having a depth suitable for flotation around its periphery and shallower portions a safe distance from shore suitable for the collection of water-borne insects or other desirable nourishment by waterfowl that could support its own weight while standing. Unfortunately, ponds and rivers seldom have these combined features.
The known prior art relies upon the use of buoyant decoys or otherwise utilizes folding “V” shaped boards such as those described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,071. A problem with prior technology is that it is not peripherally buoyant, which makes it unsuitable for use with non-buoyant decoys. What is needed is a need for a decoy buoy that allows non-buoyant decoys to be used in the absence of land or shallow water.